PensaGrex · tree grammar study

Ten ways to draw the same tree

One skin for all ten, so the only difference is the layout language itself. Every panel shows the identical HomeLab forest: a done setup, an in-progress step that holds the branch cursor, then a three-way fork — a to-do with a note, an in-progress sub-stack, and a cancelled dead end.

done in progress to do cancelled branch cursor has a note
Horizontal — the tree grows left to right
01H

Sideways node-link

Parent on the left, children fan out to the right on elbow connectors. The org chart, turned on its side.

HomeLabWork
Set up NAS
done
▸ HERE
Migrate media library
in progress
Fix Plex transcoding
to do
Automate backups
in progress
Try Btrfs snapshots
cancelled
Test restore
to do
02H

Gantt swim-lanes

One lane per branch, tasks laid left to right in order. A fork drops new lanes at the split column, tied back with a bracket.

HomeLabWork
Set up NAS
done
▸ HERE
Migrate media library
in progress
Fix Plex transcoding
to do
Automate backups
in progress
Test restore
to do
Try Btrfs snapshots
cancelled
03H

Subway line

Each branch is a continuous track; tasks are stations along it. A fork peels new parallel tracks off the split point.

HomeLabWork
Set up NAS
▸HERE Migrate media library
Fix Plex transcoding
Automate backups
Test restore
Try Btrfs snapshots
04H

Miller columns

One column per depth; open a task and its children appear in the next column. You drill a single path; the forest lives in column one.

HomeLabWork
HomeLab · trees
Set up NAS›
in Set up NAS
Migrate media library▸HERE›
in Migrate media library
Fix Plex transcoding
Automate backups›
Try Btrfs snapshots
in Automate backups
Test restore
05H

Icicle partition

Space-filling bands: a task's height is its share of the subtree; children sit flush to its right. No connectors — adjacency is parentage.

Set up NAS
done
Migrate media library
in progress · ▸ HERE
Fix Plex transcoding
to do
Automate backups
in progress
Test restore
to do
Try Btrfs snapshots
cancelled
Vertical — the tree grows top to bottom
06V

Org-chart tree

Parent on top, children below on elbow connectors. The familiar top-down tree.

HomeLabWork
Set up NAS
done
▸ HERE
Migrate media library
in progress
Fix Plex transcoding
to do
Automate backups
in progress
Try Btrfs snapshots
cancelled
Test restore
to do
07V

Indented outline

A file-tree list: indentation is depth, guide lines join parent to child. The densest, most text-forward option.

HomeLabWork
Set up NASdone
Migrate media library▸ HEREin progress
Fix Plex transcodingto do
Automate backupsin progress
Test restoreto do
Try Btrfs snapshotscancelled
08V

Commit graph

A git-style rail on the left carries the branching; the task details sit in an aligned list on the right.

HomeLabWork
Set up NASdone
Migrate media library▸ HEREin progress
Fix Plex transcodingto do
Automate backupsin progress
Test restoreto do
Try Btrfs snapshotscancelled
09V

Flow split

A single trunk drops down; at a fork a distribution bar splits it into parallel stacks, each continuing on its own.

HomeLabWork
Set up NAS
done
▸ HERE
Migrate media library
in progress
Fix Plex transcoding
to do
Automate backups
in progress
Try Btrfs snapshots
cancelled
Test restore
to do
10V

Nested boxes

Children are drawn inside their parent; depth reads as containment. A fork is one box holding several.

HomeLabWork
Set up NASdone
Migrate media library▸ HEREin progress
Fix Plex transcodingto do
Automate backupsin progress
Test restoreto do
Try Btrfs snapshotscancelled